What sets us apart

Fintosch - welcome to our family...

What gave you the idea to offer a multilingual and holistic education concept?

Silvia Staab-Nickel: I lived in the USA for a total of seven and a half years, both in New York and New Jersey. My daughter went to an Anglo-Armenian school and learned English and Armenian within a short time. It really inspired me to see how people worked there. When I returned to Germany, I thought, I could create something like that with both English and German languages. So I worked on my own concept and dealt with international standards. The starting point for me as a mother was: what should children learn? I began looking for suitable premises in Frankfurt and opened the FINTOSCH Toddler’s School in January 2006. Initially with only one child and a teacher. In April 2007, I founded the kindergarten in Gräfstraße and in 2012 I opened a second location on Schumannstraße. This is where the FINTOSCH international Primary School was opened in August 2017. Now we have nursery, kindergarten and international elementary school all under one roof.

Your slogan is called "FINTOSCH - fells like family". What does that mean?

Staab-Nickel: We rely on family closeness, see ourselves as partners in the education of children. In doing so, we combine a child-friendly and lovingly designed environment with solid structures in a multicultural relationship.

What are the special features of the FINTOSCH Multilingual Primary School?

Van Poucke: In summary, we can say that we are multilingual, open-minded, child-oriented, positively-motivated, and we pay attention to modern teaching.

Another special feature is that we divide the first school year into two years. The first year, entrance level 1 is for the age group of five to six year olds, the second year, entrance level 2, for the six to seven year olds. This means that the children have one more year to get used to the learning environment in a playful way. It also gives children more time to learn both English and German.

Silvia Staab-Nickel: One of the special features of the primary school is our flexible opening hours from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., closing for only six days a year. This is especially important for working parents.

Another great advantage of our international primary school is that parents and children can freely choose after fourth grade: Do I change to the German or International school system? The way is completely open because after the fourth grade the children speak fluent German and English. Furthermore, we combine different, at first glance opposing educational approaches: In addition to the Hessian Education and Development Plan, we implement the International Primary Curriculum, the IPC.

What role does Frankfurt as a location play for you?

Van Poucke: Naturally, the internationality of the city is very important to us. This morning I had appointments with Indian, Spanish and Turkish families. Children who grow up in an international environment make contacts abroad faster too, they get in contact with different cultures, nationalities and customs and have no fear of contact. Our children are the world citizens of tomorrow!

FINTOSCH also cooperates with companies. What exactly do you offer to them?

Staab-Nickel: With us companies can secure a place for the children of their coworkers, without a complicated registration procedure.